Quickie

Oh, so you were expecting another story!

Because I got the pictures to load I thought I would do a quick blog nothing to do with the Beading. Just to see if I could get some other pictures to load. How about the Baby Jay's first birthday!!??

Blog ya latter! It worked again.

A Whale Tale opps Tail!

Just when you where preparing for a great story...oh well.

The best of the story is that this is one more of my unfinished works that now is a finished work. I just finished as a matter of fact. I decided to document it before doing anything else today or it would be put on hold for a day or two. You know how busy retirement can get!!

It is Jay's birthday celebration today and so even the pool is out for today. That is busy right?

I just tried to load the pictures that should accompany this blog and sure enough they would not load. It is acting like it did a few days ago. The awful truth is that I thought I had made an adjustment on my computer that again allowed me to download as before. Well folks that is wrong, there has been no change to the security settings in the time from when I could upload again and now, when it is not working. Cuss word, that stinks! Now I am back to square one. I think it is the Blogspots problem and not mine after all. So the truth of the matter is I have no control over this dysfunction and I hate to not be in control. Those who know me best, agree!

A few details about the Whale Tail necklace since I can not use pictures today. I bought the glass tail at Deland Craft Fair in September. It was a neat hand crafted piece in colors that seem to speak of the sea.

The pendent beading was done in Peyote with size 15/0 beads and zippered. The loop that attached the tail was added to the zippered tube. The beads are an iris collection that are as varied in blues and greens as the sea also. They have some purple and golden colors to add to the drama.

When I started the necklace I found that using the standard Russian Spiral stitch was going to make a much too large diameter to fit within my pendent. (Did I do this necklace backwards or what?) I decided I would try with all size 15/0 beads and again it was too big. Well that stymied me for a time. Invention time I guess. I varied the stitch in size 15's to make a diameter that would work. I used the Iris mixture and a clear blue also in size 15/0 but I only used 6 beads per round. What? you say. I started the pattern or a new pattern not a standard Russian Spiral one. I started with an iris then a clear blue three times and knotted into a circle. I then added an iris a clear onto the thread and stitched them into the next clear around the circle moving counterclockwise. It made a tube of beads that look very much like Russian Spiral but may be another stitch altogether by another name. If you do know of another name for what I did please let me know so I can name it correctly. Until that time it will be called six bead Russian Spiral variation

!

Jade for Jayda

This is a Peyote bracelet with a heart shaped cab that I made the bezel for and started before I left PA.(the first time in Sept) It is done in jade colored size 11 rounds and brown size 15 rounds. The whole bracelet is a little drab as both are matte finished beads.

The jade is shiny, but not the best example of jade I have ever seen. What distinquished it at all is it is from a necklace my Mother had and I removed the heart from silver backing and made the bezel. I had Jayda, my youngest granddaughter, in mind. Being named Jayda just seems to mark her as needing the piece of jade, right? She is really too young to appreciate the time I have taken to make it for her or that it is a small piece of her Great Grammy.

The toggle is really a vintage button that is about the same color as the brown beads.

The loop is really two loops. The end one is the final one that Jayda will grow into. The green loop is the temp one for now. It doesn't look too bad having the two size possibilities. I can use the brown loop and I have large wrists. She may never grow into it and I will have to make other arrangements later. For now, if she evens wears it, it will do in the green loop.

I am finally trying to finish everything I have started. I have a gold and square crystal bracelet to finish and a whale tail pendent necklace in the works and that will complete all the started projects. I also have to repair the red Freeform Peyote bracelet that had a major break. I will get to all these. On the work station is the Whale tail necklace. The pendent part has been done for some time. However, the necklace was about 4 inches long for a long time also. I have worked on it and it is a little over 10 inches now. Today I put over an inch on before I saw an error. Jessica wanted me to ignore it and go onward. When you spend all the hours to complete a necklace you do not want a known mistake in it. It is bad enough to complete a project only to find an unknown mistake in the early stages. I cannot ignore a mistake so I ripped and ripped but now it is ready to go forward again. When it is done I will Blog about it. Then it is the "unusual" crystal bracelet on deck.

Have a great night. Now that I am able to get pictures to attach again, I think I will try to add some of the Russian Spiral bracelets pictures I had been trying to add to the last blog. Check it out and see if I was successful!!

Russian Spiral Pattern

There are more hits on my blog entitled The Versatile Russian Spiral than any other I have done. Based on that I have been trying to decide what if anything I should do to address that. I did not do a tutorial on the Russian Spiral in the other blog but I think it is time to add a location for those who are trying to learn and have stopped by.

The pdf file below is wonderful for learning the pattern.
http://www.beadpatterncentral.com/russianspiral.pdf

There are a few suggestions that I have learned by trial and error. The first is that I do three added loops of beads before I tighten my thread to allow the beads to come together in a stack. I roll the beads back and worth as I put even tension on the thread. How you hold the beads and thread seems to be a struggle at first and then you fall into a pattern that is easiest for you. I find that it helps to wrap the thread around my left little finger to keep the thread tense while I add the next three beads. If you are right handed you will be working in a counterclockwise direction. If you are left handed just do the pattern in a clockwise direction. I do find that if I pinch the beads together that the bead that the thread will enter...the one directly after the larger bead seems to pop up a little allowing the needle to enter it easier. I also find that if helps to make sure that you always have only 3 large beads at the top of the spiral or bead stack. (no more and no less). I think it helps if you use say a larger size of beads when learning than you may wish to use later on. Size 6 for larger and 8 for smaller. I prefer the smaller 11 for large and 15 for small. I have also done the same size bead but with distinctly different colors so it is still possible to tell which bead the needle enters. Same color and same size beads are not a recommendation for this pattern. I am sure there are those who do this, but it is not me. Make it easy on your self when you learn. If you need a few inches to learn and then tear out that is okay. I have many false starts when learning a new stitch. I just cut and start over I do not tear out I save it for latter often. I also use a long enough thread so I do not need to add thread on a bracelet. That is about 3 yards. I leave a tail on the start side of 8 to 12 inches. That will be the one side of a clasp.

A little bit about adding thread...knots. Any good bead magazine will tell how to tie knots and the different kind to use. I use a a variety of these and still sometimes get a mess. What you ask is a mess...a knot that will not pull through so I have a loop. Where the heck did that come from?
Also I have pulled a knot tight only to have my thread (strong as it is) break at the knot. Now before I mentioned that I usually use thread long enough for the whole project when it is a bracelet. Imagine now where that darn knot must be. You got it. The bracelet is complete and I am finishing off at the clasp. The only thing I do here is curse and undo the bracelet back far enough to tie on a thread and then finish again and hope I have no more knot problems.
Adding on a thread can be tricky also...again we are doing a know or series of knots. I find that if I put the two ends of the thread together and make a loop near my work and then pass both ends through and then start knotting and snugging all three free ends. I can secure a tight knot with very little size that will hide within a bead. I leave a long enough tail on the ends so I can weave them through my work later and tie at least 2 more knots within the finished work. I try to have 3 knots total for every end. No wonder I get into knot dilemmas.

When I finish off a bracelet I use French wire and a toggle on many of my bracelets. When I am very ambitious I make the loop and toggle. That is another blog. If I buy the toggle and ring, I buy the best I can afford. When you use the best beads, the best thread, and the best findings you feel like it was worth all the time to make. Do not make a cheap material bracelet and invest your valuable time.

Back to the French wire and how I use it. I cut 2, 1/4 inch length of the wire. When I reach about 6 to 6 1/2 inches of lengh I stop and end the bracelet. I add a large and small bead twice and then the French wire which is hollow and threads well. I then add the clasp end and take the needle back through the last small bead. If you are working in larger beads you will need to substitute a 15/0 bead for the last small one so the French wire does not go within the last bead and you can snug it up into a protective loop over the thread that is around the clasp. The clasp will not wear on the thread then. That is the real purpose of the French wire. There are other findings for this purpose. I do not know how to use them. I have only used French wire. Remember I am a novice at this, too.

Good luck and comment and leave an email if you have another question.

I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged. What does that mean you say. Well essentially it means that someone somewhere would like to know a little more about you. When you blog it is usually for yourself or for family or close friends. You would assume that all your readers would know you well. Maybe even too well.

The longer you blog the more you realize that new friends are reading you and even people you do not know have stopped by.

For those who do not know me well read on. For those who do, it is your day off!

1. I had taught Health and Physical Education for 34 years before my retirement and loved it very much. However I did not ever get to attend a special activity during school hours for my own children. If I had it to do over I would have taken a day off to share those times with my four children. Today I am babysitting for Jay my youngest grandchild so Jessica can spend time with Jayda at her Halloween activities at school.

2. I just lost 32 lbs. and I am feeling good about that. In fact, it may even be a little more than that as my original weigh-in was at my brothers...we are competitive so a bet/diet works best. Especially for me! "What?" you say does that mean. It means that my brother is going to be owing me big bucks come February 10th! At least if means that if he does not lose the 30 lbs. We have had these bets before and then we soon gain back the weight. The hard part this time is that every other month until July if the weight is not still off at the additional weigh-ins, you have lost the bet! No way!

3. I am looking forward to being a Florida resident, but will miss the special people from my life in PA. We have had some very happy years there and met some fantastic people. We still plan to spend time in the summer in PA, but it is never going to be quit the same. Now the next problem will be finding a rental that is furnished in the area near where we lived in Reynoldsville.

4. I love my seedbeading. Since it is a new to me hobby, I am really anxious to learn lots and lots! I have given away so many bracelets since learning in March of this year. I love to always have a gift available that is personal. I really try to match the bead colors and styles to the person. I love that me grandchildren like my handiwork too. The bead project done with beads my Mother had bought before her death in '82 will always standout as a project done with my Mother. If I had not discovered the art of seedbeading I would never have enjoyed that experience. I guess it confirms my theory that all things happen for a greater good.

5. I am verbose. Guess that comes with the territory. I write too much, talk too much, and tell too many details. My friends in college use to say, " Ask Deb what time it is and she will tell you how to build a watch". That had not changed. I am liking this tagging thing, but I do not know 7 people that I can tag. My daughter and Carol who tagged me are the only ones I know of who blog. I know that both of them have already been tagged so I will not do that to them again. I will just have to do my 7 items about me and that will have to do.

6. For over 20 years I showed Bulldogs. We bred them and loved them and I did the exhibiting of them at shows almost every weekend in the spring, summer and early fall. Because of where we lived, I did not enter winter shows as the weather was too unperdictable to travel the distances required to get to the shows. Some of the winter shows I did not attend were in Cleveland at the I-X center in mid December. This year I am judging Bulldogs and French Bulldogs at the Friday show. It seems funny to think I am flying from Fl to judge at a show that I felt was too likely to include snow. I am flying into Cleveland on the 11th of December. What is wrong with that picture?

7. The final thing I would like to share is how fortunate I feel to have found such a wonderful husband, Harv. We have been together for nearly 34 years. We each had two children by former marriages. We adopted each others children about 2 months after we were married. It has been so many years, sometimes I refer to the 4 kids I had. Opps I forget that I really did not had all four. In fact when asked which I did have I usually say, "Ah, I do not remember for sure. I know I had a boy and a girl. I just cannot seem to remember which ones." If you have gotten to the end of all this (Harvey, Bryan, Kim and Jessica) you will then know I love you all very much! Oh and Harv is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I have had some great things happen.

Thank you Carol for reading my blog and now you know a little more about me. I hope I do not get tagged again as I do not think I could come up with anything more to write about me.

Florida Resident-SeedBeader!

Well I do not know if I could really consider myself a seedbeader as I have not put needle and thread to bead for about 3 weeks.

The prospect of selling the house in PA and the subsequent sale and move have pretty much occupied the last three weeks and then some. It has been a bit of a whirlwind. We were only back in FL about a week and got a call that people were interested in looking at the house. This is the home in which we raised our 4 children and spent 33 happy years. We had taken the For Sale sign down a week before we returned to Florida on September 12.

Well my brother said sure he would show the house and the rest is history.

The next problem was getting back to PA and clearing out the years of accumulation. Could we do it is 9 days after arrival? Sure! (I think)

On October 13th we flew to DuBois via Cleveland. Amy had Candy's car at the airport for us. Thank you thank you! We started on Tuesday October 14th to clear everything out. We arrived in Florida in a U Haul on Wednesday October 22nd. As of this writing everything we could not part with is stuffed somewhere in our home in Florida.

The clue to the fast job was giving and throwing away everything that did not scream take me to Florida. The exceptions were the things that we had wanted to bring to Jessica and Bryan. Bryan's items were dropped in Charlotte except for the afghan and magazine rack I forgot to unload there. They are stored here and will find their way to Bryan and Stacy ASAP. The things for Jessica are now cluttering their home. Hey, what can I say?

This morning early, I started cleaning and organizing one area that I stuffed. I figure if I do a closet or drawer or cupboard a day it should not take too long to get the place back to near normal.

Jessica remarked last night that the Bulldog picture of "Mousse" did not seem to go in my Flamingo house. It is a part of our history that we could not say goodbye to. Our PA home was decorated in Bulldogs.

It spoke of the wonderful years we enjoyed showing and raising our Bulldogs. We met the greatest people and shared the best laughs and tears together. This is a part of Harv and my life that needs to be remembered forever. The only part we share in Bulldogs today, is when I am asked to judge them at a Dog Show.

Seeing the Rainbow on our way, seemed to promise more happy years as

Florida Residents!

Projects and Yada Yada

Oh my, do I have my work cut out for me or what. We made reservations last evening for a quick trip to PA to pack up the house and rent a U-Haul and end an amazing era. I guess we will soon be exclusive residents in Florida who vacation in PA for a time in the summer. Provided we can find a furnished rental during the summer in the Greater Reynoldsville area. LOL

I am working on some projects that will have to go on hiatus for a couple weeks as we finish up the move.

While in PA this summer I found a necklace that was my Mothers with a jade shaped heart. I removed the jade and have begun a bracelet with the jade made into a cab.

Then there is the bracelet I started in PA with the Swarorski crystal squares and gold seeds. I had to get more of the gold beads and have done that but...

Oh and I am wanting to learn the berlini ? stitch as I love the spiral it makes so I actually bought some big, for me, size 8 beads.

There is the glass whale tail I bought at the DeLand craft fair. It is waiting for its necklace as it is a lovely pendant now.

Wonder if I could just take a few beads and a work on at least one at night. No I better not. I will be exhausted at night...blog you soon.

Double Spiral Finished!

Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday we arrived in FL. It has been over two weeks and I have beaded so little. I miss it when I do not do it. I did work on a black bracelet for my Grandson. I showed it in the last blog. It was the Russian Spiral with the bugles. It came out okay, but it just fits Jacob. Guess I will have to think of another for him for Christmas.

I started this while I was still in PA and it is a pattern that I downloaded. I talked about it in the September 8th blog before leaving PA.

http://www.bead-patterns.com/tmp/44357434/14385. Please check it out, I linked to the pattern. It is easy and I love it. Designed by Jann M. Christiansen.

The design is hers, but the bead selection and size is mine. I used two 15/0's for the two spiral colors and an amber 11/0 for the center core. I continued with three core beads and then one of the bronze 15's and about 1/4 inch of French Wire and the clasp. I went through all those parts with the thread and then back through the 15 and several of the cores and then tied a knot. I continued down through several more cores and tied another knot. Then I continued down several more cores before cutting the thread. It is a little difficult making the knot in the center of the bracelet. I messed with it for some time. It works but does take extra patience getting between the 15's to tie the knots at the core beads.

The Versatile Russian Spiral Stitch

All done with Russian Spiral

I have a great friend that I gave a bracelet to while I was in Las Vegas. She does not have much time right now but she sure would like to learn the Russian Spiral stitch and how to make similar bracelets. I tried to find a tutorial for her and found one with a combination of 11/0 and bugle beads. I did not find one with the pattern that I know with 11/0and 15/0 beads. I guess I am going to have to try to make a pattern that a novice could learn.

I can do so much with the Russian Spiral pattern and have varied the projects I have done in several ways. The obvious is just by using different colors of beads. I love the combination possibilities. Sometimes I use the same colors in different size bead. Sometimes I use contrasting colors. Sometimes I use colors I did not even think would go together. Sometimes I stopped after about 3 rounds and ripped quick before anyone could see the mess! The great part is that the variations are endless and only limited by your imagination.

I have also used a variety of sizes of beads. I have used all size 11/0 beads just making sure that the colors are different enough to see where to insert the needle. I have also used all size 15/0 beads. Again it is essential that the colors contrast enough to locate the bead that much be stitched through. I have not used many different sizes of beads as I do not own many sizes. However I know that you can do the pattern with any variety of sizes as long as they are not too many size differences. An 8 and a 11 would work but I would not try a 6 or 8 with a 15. I would try an 8 and 6 together though as I am certain they would work well. However, I did do a practice piece that was larger beads with small and I added another of the small ( 3 instead of 2). For all I know that could be another pattern. Remember I am a Newbie at this with less than a year of beading.


Above is an example picture in which I used shiny and matte black beads of the same size (11/0) and also the same matte beads with a shiny bugle. I have not worked with bugles and the ones I used I acquired in a "mess"of beads and I have no idea what size they are or even how they are sized.
Another way of varying the Russian Spiral pattern is by enlarging a portion of the bracelet. This is accomplished by doubling the number of beads in a round. Instead of 1 larger and 2 smaller three times around, you do 6 of the combinations. After doing the double for 4 or so rounds you skip every other and are back at the original 3 combinations per round. I was told that you can continue to add combinations to form flowers but I have not tried that. I am not sure how often one would increase the combinations.
One of these days I will try and design something with that in mind...

Home!

Yes this is home to me!... I love my house in FL!
I wrote this blog yesterday. At least it is similar. I forgot most of what I said. The darn thing did not save and when I posted it, it was not there. Throughout the time I was writing, it said not saving, but it acted like it was so did I believe it? Of course not. However I should have been a believer as it was gone.
I was so bummed I simply let it alone.
We had a great trip South. The first day, it rained until we were on the road for about 5 hours. The construction on the Interstate was not fun, but hey I was crocheting and the time flew. It takes 3 hours at least to get out of PA and on Friday it took about 3 and a half hours to get into WV. In Virginia we got gas at 351.9. We made up for it. By the time we got to Bryan's in Charlotte the gas panic had started because of IKE the hurricane. We did get gas there. The gas panic was in full swing by Sunday. We paid 499.9 in GA.
We had a great visit with Bryan and Stacy and got to deliver the Grammy bead earrings to Stacy. I also got to see Kelly at work and delivered her Grammy bead bracelet. She seemed pleased to see us. We did kind of surprise her. I loved giving her the bracelet and felt my Mother smiling down on the moment.
We continued our trip to Fl on Sunday and it was a delightful trip. The sun came out when we reached FL. I guess Fl was as happy to see us as we were to arrive. On Sunday evening Jessica had us for a wonderful spaghetti dinner and oh how we enjoyed it. We also loved seeing the whole FL family. The kids had all grown and were so darling. Jacob and Jayda had made us a welcome home sign. So sweet of them! I was able to deliver the last of the Grammy bead bracelets to Jessica and Jayda. Mother would have loved being with Jessica and her family. She adored Jessica and wow would she have loved Michael and the children. Her love for children was one of her greatest charms, but Jessica's children would have been her greatest love. Indeed!! (Her favorite term)
I have been trying to make a bracelet for Jacob in black and I am going to have to confer with him, as I am not happy with the three false starts I have had. Help me Jacob.
Speaking of Help! Bryan was able to track down the mouse hide and seek problem in no time. It was the one built in mouse driver that functions on that little Dell eraser type thing. He eliminated the use of it and immediately we were back to normal. As we always add a Mouse, we did not need the built in ones. Thank you again, Bryan.

Off To Florida We Go.

Tomorrow I am starting home. Yes, Florida is home in my heart. PA is my original home state, but I miss my Florida Family bunches, thats home.
We are planning a stop to see our youngest son and his wife in Charlotte. We may be able to see our neice there too. I have a Grammy Beads bracelet for her. For my daughter-in-law I have a pair of Grammy Beads earrings.
We are anxious to see the changes at Bryan and Stacy's home. It is such a beautiful house but the additions should make it a beautiful home!
I have been working on the Double Trouble bracelet and it is about 5 inches long. I just added a length of thread to it and then put it away to be completed in FL. I really love the pattern and hope to make other projects in it.

Time to finish all the packing and then take the Digital box and Modem back to the cable company. I will not be at my computer for a few days and I sure hope that Bryan can do something with his Dad's computer. It is having Mouse issues...the mouse runs across the screen as though it were a real mouse and then it hides in a corner. The built in mouse pad responds the same. I did all I knew how to do and it did not fix it.
Brrrryannn Help!

A Quick Beading Fix

I am suppose to be packing and doing the last minute things that happen before heading back to Fl for the next 8 or 9 months. Indeed!





However a person has to do what a person has to do. If it means beading a little and even time out for a new beading pattern what can it hurt. First I had to finish Jayne's birthday present. It is a blue on light blue Russian Sprial and with the required silver Flamingo Charm! I put the charm on differently and I am not sure it is what I should have done. Too late now.

I do not know what made me go to the free pattern site today.

I felt the urge big and had to do it. It is called "Double Trouble" and is a double spiral rope chain.
http://www.bead-patterns.com/tmp/44357434/14385.pdf
© 2008 Jann M. Christiansen. I did it with 11/0 core beads with large centers for the many passes of the thread. I did the two colors in 15/0's so it is going to take a bit of time to complete. The core is an amber bead and the two outside colors are clear with gold centers and bronze with gold. I love the effect and could not visualize how the spiral would happen, it sure does.

Okay, okay, I am getting busy right now...

We Survived 12 Days in Vegas

What happens in Vegas does not have to stay in Vegas, right? What a great time we had. We started out losing and losing and losing. We started our trip on a invite to Caesars Palace for a 27 inch HD TV. The 27" was free, but if you wanted the 32" behind door number 2 you had to play X amount of dollars more. Well who likes a challenge better than Harv and I? So play, play, play. Sure enough we got the most expensive 32" TV we will ever buy. Hey, it was fun trying to win. Just imagine for a minute that we won, won, won, instead of lose, lose, lose and sure enough it would have been a bargain, right? Right! The Suite we got was great and the jacuzzi was heavenly. At least, we had a wonderful room.

We move to Main Street Station from Caesars and the fun began. This was more like it. I could not do anything on my favorite machines in the front. However there were some old triple play machines and they must have remembered me. I had a great amount of luck on them and that started to dim the TV fiasco. I continued my good luck for the three days at MSS and we were getting triple points to sweeten the pot even more. MSS gives cash back so that ultimately triples the amount I was earning in cash back. Couple that with the offer we came to Main Street Station on; suite, gold card (free food at any restaurant owned by the property), $100 free play and the mentioned 3X points. Things were getting better. Should I mention the Double Hot Fudge Sundae Harv surprised me with as a carry-out at Midnight!

View from Main Street Station looking Northeast.

From MSS it was out to Henderson, NV to Sunset Station. Sunset is a neat casino with lots of stained glass and a great buffet. Who can resist. I have not had much luck there in the past, but hey it has such good food I need to try every trip!

This was a much better than average time spent at Sunset and I continued my winning ways. I should explain a little about luck and winning and losing as it applies to my Vegas experiences.

"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity". I prepare by practicing correct Video Poker Play via two different Video Poker Tutors softwares. Winning is when a Jackpot happens. Losing is the time I play waiting for the Jackpot. When I have a better than average time of winning in relationship to time of losing, I Smile!

Smiled at Main Street Station, smiled at Sunset Station.

On to the LV Hilton. This property is located at the end of the Monorail track and about two blocks off The Strip. It sits behind and half way between Wynn and Sahara Casinos on The Strip. We were invited to an anniversary celebration at Hilton. I did not win any of the drawings, but it is always fun being eligible. I won a cruise from Hilton some years ago so I have won there. I continued to win at the machines and thus a Smile for Hilton, too. We also won a limited edition Godard statue called "Sitting on Sevens". It is one of 2500 and cute. The TSA worker at the airport was a little put off by its shape in our carry on.

View from the Hilton - I guess they had a heavy equipment convention.

Final Casino on our Itinerary was Silverton. Silverton is a locals casino at the extreme southern end of the city. It is west of I-15 at Blue Diamond Blvd. If you have ever been to the Outlet Mall on the South Strip, Silverton is south of it at the next major intersection. It has a Bass Pro Shop on one side and a Casino Hotel on the other. It is completing an expansion that we look forward to on our next visit.

Silverton Mermaid bar - Jellyfish aquarium.

Silverton was trying to act like Caesars (making me a loser), but to be fair, I only played there one day and thus I believe having a little longer could have made me smile at Silverton, too, right? Next time! I will give them a longer time to make me smile. They did give me some free play and some free food and like all our visited casinos free rooms.

Yes, for a very big change we came back Winners! What a great and fun trip, and winning, too. It doesn't get any better than that.

Vacation - Las Vegas

I am suppose to be doing laundry and starting to pack!
I wanted to share the calendar so you can keep track of our trip.
Just like being there, right?

I will be without my computer this trip. The last time many of the free access to Internet sites were pay for. The trip before there were several casinos that had areas where there was free wireless service. I was surprised that they still had service, but were asking about $10 a day.
When we stay at Harrah's owned property, we have Diamond status that allows us to go to a lounge where there are free drinks, snacks, and computers. I can check email and that is about it.
We are suppose to be getting a TV at Caesars. It is to be shipped to our home. If it is to arrive in FL before us, I think it will have to be shipped to Jessica's address and wait for us to arrive.
Oh, just a comment on my newest bead project. It is a bracelet with Swaroski crystal squares about 1/2 inch. They are open in the center. I am linking them with 15/0 gold glass beads. The link is 6 beads wide in Peyote and about a two inch length. I am zipping the Peyote to form the ring. I have two crystals put together and working on the second Peyote ring. I would like it if the crystals would stay on an angle rather than just a side so I will have some work to do here. I will not finish before returning from Las Vegas in early September. Of course then it will be a 10 day mad house of packing for Florida and our visit on the way with Stacy and Bryan.
Wish me luck, cross your fingers, and anything else that may help me come back with as much money as I leave with. See I did not say so I win...staying even would be just fine, right!?

Grammy Beads Final Edition!

Today is the day. Today I finish the Grammy's Beads Project!

The Black and White are already with Candy, my sister-in-law. The Red are mine. The White and Silver are for Betsy. The Yellow and Bronze are for Wendy. Last, but not least, the Yellow and Blue are for Stacy. This has been a true labor of love. I only hope that Mother knows the joy the beads have given me in the gifts I have been able to give to the family members.

Today I was also able to deliver Amy's bracelet. It is the shiny Green and Green. I am so glad she liked it. I will send the White Bracelet and White earrings to Kim and Betsy as I will not see them before we leave for Florida. I will have to send the two Yellow bracelets and the Yellow earrings to Hannah and Madison and Wendy. I do not expect to be able to see them before we leave.

I will deliver the Red Bracelet and the Yellow and Blue earrings to Kelly and Stacy respectively. We are planning a couple day visit with Stacy and Bryan in Charlotte and will see Kelly there, too.

The final delivery will be the other Red bracelet to Jessica and the other Green bracelet to Jayda, when we get home to Florida.

What fun this has been. I hope that the beads will always be a reminder to each of us who owns them to be just a little bit like the Beautiful Lady who originally bought them, my Mother.

The Rest of the Story

Mother would have loved this story. She had such a keen sense of humor and would have gotten such a laugh when I ran out of beads on the second green bracelet. The first was made with 15/0's and I had planned to do the same with the second one. When there was about an inch and a half to finish, I had run out of beads on my work pad and started looking for the vial of green. I sure did find it...empty. I am not certain why but there were less beads in the green vial and thus I could not complete the bracelet. I cut it up and then separated all the beads and started again with another size 11 bead in a green. It took three starts and a bit of chagrin when I thought it still would be too short but fortunately it worked and is now complete. The black and white is with Heather. The rest will be with their respective granddaughter or great granddaughter in a short time.

Heathers Bracelet

The final chapter will be the earrings...wish me luck. The wires are ordered and should be in soon. I am leaving for Vegas in a week so perhaps the earrings will have to wait. For sure they will.

I just remembered that I would be seeing a dear friend from California while I am in Las Vegas. She will need a bracelet with a flamingo on it!

Where Oh Where???

Well I really have been busy working on the bracelets. Although they are not going as fast as I thought they would. I did give the first one to Heather. It was the black and white. She is Grammy's youngest granddaughter. I was trying to do the math and I cannot figure out if she was born the April before Mother died. She would have been one day less than a month old then when Mother died. I could tell she was touched by the story and the bracelet.
Speaking of being touched. I told a little about the Grammy Beads on a Yahoo Group I belong to called Beaddreamz. The response from the lovely ladies associated with this group was amazing. It gave me many other viewpoints and made me very happy I started this project and especially blogged about it. They commented mostly on the Group forum. However, some of the members commented at the bottom of the blog itself.
I have 4 bracelets done and the other 4 underway.

(Click on the picture for a better look!)
I ordered Sterling Silver lever backed earring wires today so I can attempt to make earrings for the additional 5 that I wanted to have a Grammy Beads item.
The next decision is how to make the earrings. I could try making a bead with beads. Or I could try to make a flower with the beads. I saw a pattern in a Bead and Button magazine where there were hoops made with beads using about 3 or four different sizes. You may or may not know, that would be a challenge for me as I own basically two sizes of beads. There are 15/0 and 11/0. There are six packages of triangles that Jessica bought for me...maybe they would work. There are also several odd large beads, that I bought, that are vintage and would not probably be enough of any given color to match.
You now get the gist of the next hurdle. I have never made a pair of earrings before. So the work begins. You do know that I probably do not want any two pair alike, right?
The bracelets will be white and rainbow clear, white and black (Heathers), red and same color transparent red, red and orange lined red, lime green and lime green, lime green and transparent rainbow purple, yellow and tortoise shell brown, and yellow and transparent blue. The first named color is the Grammy Beads the second color is the smaller bead I had.

The "Grammy Beads"

This promises to be a rather long story.

On May 9, 1982 my Mother, Esther Gordon Deible, died. It was a very sad time in my life. It so happened that the 9th was Mothers' Day. To know my mother was to know the ultimate in motherhood. She was the champion of her two children, me and my brother. She would never have allowed herself to die on such a momentous day. Somehow I have reconciled that God picked the perfect mother to take. Was I the perfect daughter? No.

Very shortly after her death, my father wanted me to get her clothes out of the house. Although he did not say so I am certain they were painful to see.

My Mother was perhaps the most beautifully dressed lady of her time in our small town. She loved fancy clothes and dressed to the nines for her bridge club every month.

Many of her clothes were embellished in some way or another. Her wedding dress was a beautiful pink with a floral design in seed beads. I did not realize that until recently when I was cleaning out my parents house after my Dad's death. (If you read an earlier post on the cleaning of the attic you remember!) I ran across a picture of her wedding day without the corsage on her dress and sure enough there was the seed bead embroidery. Over the years I remember needlepoint pockets added to dresses. My mother had the dresses made and she had made the needle point. She was very accomplished in knitting and needlepoint. She also bought several sweaters and dresses that had intricate bead embroidery on them. When my sister-in-law and I are shopping and see "fancy clothes" we always comment on how Mother would have loved them.

Okay what about the "grammy beads"?

To all 7 of my Mothers grandchildren she was Grammy. That was like taking Mother to the second power. She adored all her grandchildren. My daughter chronicled grammy in her blog as well as my Father when he died in March. March 6th and March 7th. http://jessicamae3.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html

The Beads! What about the darn beads?

Right the beads. Well after cleaning the attic at my Fathers and removing all the trash and treasures, his wife, Phyllis asked when I was going to do the closets? And drawers? You see when Dad married her he did not want change so aside from my Mothers clothes and jewelry everything else was more or less exactly as it had been in 1982.

I started on the closets and drawers a few days after completing the attic and again it was a treasure of family history. There were thousands of slides from 1955 onward. There were linens with stains and broken items, so much of the work included throwing away over 50 years of trash. In the drawers there were lots of pictures and also old old should have been thrown away years ago clothing.

In a drawer in my brothers room there was a small manila envelope and within were 6 glass vials. Two of the vials were empty...in the other 4 were seed beads.

I do not remember my Mother ever embroidering with them so I do not know what happened to the beads from the two empty vials. In the four were red, lime green, yellow, and white beads. They are old and not as uniformed as I use. However they are about to become bracelets for all of Grammys living female relatives. That would be my Sister-in-law, me, my three daughter-in-laws and two daughters, my three nieces, and my three granddaughters. That is 13 of us. To make the beads go that far I am doing my favorite Russian Spiral and adding some 15/0 beads to the 11 or 10's that I found of Mothers.

Beginning of the "Grammy Bracelets". There will have to be a minor adjustment. I think now that the Grammy Beads will not "stretch" to make more than 8 or nine bracelets. I fear that it will limit those who will ultimately get one. Time will tell.

I am going to give the first one tomorrow. I decided it was time to release this draft to my blog. Smile!

Thanks Mother, I guess you knew that someday I would be a seed bead addict.

Red Hot Hot Hot!!!

Red Hot is what I think when I see my new Freeform Peyote Bracelet. It is finished!

I was not happy with the look of the center as it was very harsh looking. Well I strung some of the shinny delicas and then twisted them around the coral. I felt just fine about it then. It was a simple solution. I wish I had a better close up photograph to show some of the details.

I just may have a better close up of any of my pictures after Wed. Well maybe it will take some time. I am getting a new camera on Wednesday, but it will take some time for me to read the book and learn what I can. However I am cheating a little. It is a camera like my daughter Jessica's, so I look forward to her teaching me everything she knows about her camera as soon as we get back to Florida!

Seeing Red Update

No not finished yet. However it is definitely progressing. I still do not feel like it has enough happening on the one end. The other side is feeling more complete. What do you think??

I See RED

Oh yes you have guessed it. Something in Red is taking shape. I started a Red Freeform Peyote bracelet. It is in the early stages. There is no stone or cab in this one. I have just started doing some embellishing. Time to share!

It is in 5 shades of red. The center is red coral. At least that is what I think it is. I got it in a bag of vintage beads a couple of months ago. I want to add some more of it but not sure yet where or if it is enough. Lots of work left to be done. I love the Reds, hope you do too!

Check back in a day or so and see if I got it finished...I am really at it often.